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Taanis 8b

תענית ח׳ ע״ב

Taanit 8b

Learn Taanis 8b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Taanis 8b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Rain in the פסוקים and in prayer: rain compared to birth, praying in times of trouble, and the blessing of rain

Overview

The גמרא finishes comparing rain to a woman having a child, using three shared words: closing up, giving birth, and remembering. It explains 'פלג אלהים' as a dome in the sky that rain comes out of. רבי שמואל בר נחמני explains a פסוק in איוב about rain that comes as punishment or as kindness. Then come two stories about times of trouble. In a famine and plague, רבי שמואל בר נחמני said to pray about the famine, because food is given only to the living. Under a decree that banned fasting, רבי זירא told the people to accept a fast and keep it later. Next, רבי יצחק and others teach about rain: it can be a burden at the wrong time but a great blessing in its time, and blessing rests only on what is hidden from the eye. The amud ends with a series of רבי יוחנן's teachings on the greatness of rain, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

נֶאֶמְרָה עֲצִירָה בְּאִשָּׁה,

Closing up is said about a woman,

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כִּי עָצֹר עָצַר ה׳ בְּעַד כׇּל רֶחֶם״,

as it says: 'For ה׳ had fast closed up every womb,'

וְנֶאֶמְרָה עֲצִירָה בִּגְשָׁמִים,

and closing up is said about rain,

דִּכְתִיב: ״וְעָצַר אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם״.

as it is written: 'And He will close up the heavens.'

The steps (27)

  1. StatementClosing up is said about both a woman and rain
  2. StatementGiving birth is said about both a woman and rain
  3. StatementRemembering is said about both a woman and rain
  4. QuestionWhat does 'the stream of God full of water' mean?
  5. ResponseA dome in the sky that rain comes out of
  6. StatementRain as punishment or kindness: where it falls
  7. StatementA second reading: trees, seeds, and water storage
  8. QuestionFamine and plague: what should the people pray for?
  9. ResponsePray about the famine, because plenty is given to the living
  10. QuestionWhere do we learn not to pray about two troubles?
  11. ResponseProof from עזרא: 'for this'
  12. ProofProof from דניאל, as taught in ארץ ישראל
  13. Statementרבי זירא tells the people to accept a fast they cannot yet keep
  14. QuestionThe people ask רבי זירא for his source
  15. Responseרבי זירא brings a proof from דניאל
  16. StatementRain on Friday is a sign of a curse, even in a drought
  17. Proofרבה בר שילא: a rainy day is as hard as a day of judgment
  18. Statementאמימר: if people did not need rain, we would pray to stop it
  19. StatementSun on שבת is charity for the poor
  20. StatementA day of rain is great: even a coin in the pocket is blessed
  21. StatementBlessing rests only on what is hidden from the eye
  22. ProofThe school of רבי ישמעאל teaches the same idea
  23. StatementHow to pray for blessing when measuring grain
  24. StatementA day of rain is as great as the gathering of the exiles
  25. StatementEven armies stop fighting on a rainy day
  26. StatementRain is held back because of people who pledge charity and do not give
  27. Statementרבי יוחנן opens another teaching on a פסוק